Michael (michka) Kaplan wrote:
>
[About the representation vs. encoding of Tamil .naa]
>
> Actually, Apurva just did explain it.... and since she comes from a
> typography background she did explain how the whole problem can be handled
> via fonts. :-)
>
> However, it cannot currently be handled by Unicode. You must choose the
> proper font to display NNA AI, NNNA AI, LA AI, or LLA AI.

I do not see how it may be supposed to "be handled by Unicode" (I am pretty
sure Michael knows that, but that is intended as a clarification).

The problem here is a difference in rendering, as two different renderings
exist in the wild, similarly with the two forms for the Latin lowercase a.
For all but exceptional cases, only one behaviour is expected (and it
depends from the context, to the culture --I heard that Sri Lanka is more
traditionalist-- and the desired effect). As such, one should elect the
relevant font; then, this is the job of the rendering engine to get the
job done... and to make the ligature appear.

> The Monotype font and Latha in Windows 2000 are the way that my client got
> both display types.

I believe this is a rather special need that your client have: as I understand,
he wants, at the same time, some rendering forms from MS Latha (usually, these
are the modern forms), and some others forms from Monotype Tamil. Usually,
these needs are in books that explain the script...